When In Rome: Having A Gold Cappuccino At The Emirates Palace In Abu Dhabi

I’m staying at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi at the moment, courtesy of the Etihad Airways stopover program. Over the years I’ve had many meals at the Emirates Palace (some of Abu Dhabi’s best restaurants are here), though this is my first time actually staying here.

I’ll have a full review soon of the hotel soon, though the thing that really stands out to me is how good service here is. Usually service in the UAE is a bit disorganized, but this hotel has true international 5-star standard service. I haven’t come across a single employee who wasn’t incredibly polished and proactive. But I’ll save that for the review, and for now focus on the purpose of this post — gold cappuccinos!

If you only have one hour at Emirates Palace, spend that hour enjoying the famous Palace Cappuccino. Sprinkled in real 24 carat gold flakes, this is the epitome of indulgence at the Palace.

At Emirates Palace, we use only the finest ingredients to create our signature gold cappuccino. Also known as the Palace Cappuccino, this superior blend of aromatic coffee is sprinkled with gold flakes to give you a taste of royalty, making it unlike anything you have ever tried before.

Served on a polished silver tray, you can enjoy your cappuccino with aspecial date and dark chocolate. There is also a palate cleansing glass of water to finish with.

The Palace Cappuccino is served throughout the day in Le Café from 7:00 am to 12:30 am.

There are actually two signature drinks to choose from. In addition to the gold cappuccino, there’s also a camelccino. As the name suggests, this is made with camel milk.

I ordered the gold cappuccino for 60AED, or ~16USD. That’s definitely the most expensive cappuccino I’ve ever ordered.

The cappuccino is served with a side of dark chocolate and a date, and the art on the cappuccino is gorgeous.

So, what does the gold cappuccino taste like? A cappuccino. I actually found the gold flakes to be a bit annoying, since they’d fly all over if you breath ever so slightly (either through your mouth or nose) near the cappuccino. I solved that problem by mixing the gold flakes into the cappuccino (then again, it also eliminates the whole point of a gold cappuccino).

Bottom line

The gold cappuccino is exactly what I expected — it’s a cappuccino that looks great on social media. Everyone can decide for themselves if the novelty of having a gold cappuccino is worth that price. For me I was just happy to take my laptop down to the lobby and have a change of scenery for an hour, as there’s great live music in the lobby.

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Comments

I had it and thought the same thing. I had to have it for the experience – the price is nuts for a cappuccino, but obviously not a huge dent on my wallet, so I went for it. Nothing special, but yes, I did instagram it.

A gold cappuccino has novelty, sure, but this is just some lame machine-grade cappuccino with gold dumped on it. For the price, they could’ve done some amazing stuff with latte art, the frothing, and the presentation (they could’ve suspended it in the milk froth, used it to create the pattern, etc.)

Glad you bought it to try it even if you’d not do it again. The point of disposable income is to enjoy things. Your experience is on par with a movie and a snack in price and time spent. Why would people think the latter is fine and the former is a waste? Thanks for giving it a go and sharing the experience (this is as close as I’ll get since I don’t travel there and don’t drink coffee, lol).

@omgstfualready – I was about to explain why many people would consider spending $16 on a coffee with annoying and tasteless (using both meanings of that word…) gold powder on it to be more wasteful than a trip to the cinema with snacks, but if you can’t figure it out yourself then I think it’s a waste of time!

This perfectly sums up why I despise the UAE – wasteful extravagance solely designed to show off your rich and important status, built on the back of slavery.

I did the high tea experience there at Emirates place for 160 dirhams or about $45 and I found it funny how you only allowed to order one gold flake cappuccino as part of the experience. You can have unlimited tea however

@Callum – the point is it is his money and his experience and nobody should judge it. I don’t have a DVR to me it isn’t worth the money. I don’t judge those that think otherwise. I like to go to nice restaurants to get things I cannot replicate at home myself. I don’t judge those that think that’s a waste of money. You are just as entitled to think it is a waste and not do it as others are to think it is worth the time/money for the experience. I won’t judge your opinion. Do not judge mine please.

Ben, enjoy everything you possibly can in this life and don’t allow anyone to make you feel guilty. You’re not hurting anyone … your adventures help the economies of wherever you travel. Your infectious smile and genuine friendliness are appreciated throughout the world, I’m sure!

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About Lucky

Ben Schlappig (aka Lucky) is a travel consultant, blogger, and avid points collector. He travels about 400,000 miles a year, primarily using miles and points to fund his first class experiences. He chronicles his adventures, along with industry news, here at One Mile At A Time.

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